I loved the character of this man whose intelligence and well-tempered nature left little room for compromise or approximation.
A founding member of the Académie, he was always a friendly, eminent member, precise, convinced, rigorous, assiduous, sometimes brittle with a temper, but never letting anything show of his intelligence and all the talents with which he was endowed, for modesty was part of his nature.
He was a man of great worth, upright and firm in his convictions, and he really didn’t like it when people questioned scientific proof – great scientist that he was – and often got angry when – at the time – the academy, under the influence of a few timid academics who were precursors of organic or “worse” biodynamic thinking, tried to get him to give his opinion on these forgotten modes of production using farming practices that were more holistic than purely scientific, and the… Jean-Noël Boidron was turning red!
Researcher, outstanding teacher, honest man attached to his land and the Boidron family estates, he worked throughout his life in his family vineyards, at the University of Bordeaux and at
l’Académie, always on the lookout for our work and convinced of the rigorous and wise influence that the Académie could have on the wine world, which – over time – invented ever more “particular” practices
. But I would like to confide in you here all the fear I had as Chancellor when Jean-Noël decided to disagree with certain remarks or conclusions of the day and unfolded
an assertive, documented, scientific, rigorous and implacable opposition!
Born in 1936, with a degree in mathematics and science, Jean Ribereau-Gayon was looking for an assistant. He was the one, and joined the Bordeaux Institute of Oenology in 1955.
- A thesis on redox, work on chromatography and then on the gas chromatography technique.
- Research into brettanomyces bruxellensis, whose effects on wine were not considered a defect at the time.
- A pioneer in the study of aromas in wines.
- Very fine research work on the aroma of muscat grape varieties and terpenes.
- A scientific approach to tasting kept him very busy, to the point of taking an active part in setting up the Diplôme d’aptitude à la dégustation, and it’s undeniable that the quality of teaching and research at the École Bordelaise owes a great deal to your father, dear friends Emmanuel and Hubert!
- He was an outstanding taster, perhaps one of the best of his time, always very critical, no frills, full of humility without ever having the ambition to shine in public.
His convictions: - “Pesticides: Avoid them!”
- Robert Parber “I don’t know of anyone else who could do what he did in terms of tasting”.
- “It’s emotion that I look for in a great wine. Wine is like music, like a beautiful word.
- “We’ve turned wood into a quality argument!
- “Terroir is universal, and then it’s man’s job to reveal a specific, particular place on which to make a particular product”.
- “We should always be allowed to experiment with everything! To forbid us to do so is the negation of progress”.
- “At the outset, the principle of the AOC is excellent, it’s the administrative application that’s being made of it that’s not right”.
- He also claimed to be a farmer, and with his wife Anne-Marie – a saintly woman – they looked after the vineyards of Château de Corbin Michotte in Saint-Emilion, Château de Calon
in St Georges, and Château Cantelauze in Pomerol, i.e. 70 hectares that have been in the family for 2 centuries, and which Emmanuel and Hubert now manage in the same family spirit.
Jean-Noël was also passionate about resurrecting the 5 17th-century windmills that sat in ruins on the highest points of the Montagne hills. She wanted to raze them to the ground, but he saved them, bought them back and restored them with passion and craftsmanship.
There’s no reason why I shouldn’t mention the last battle he fought in the heart of St Emilion over a ten-year classification that he would fight! And I wasn’t surprised by his commitment on the subject: he couldn’t stand injustice!
Our colleague Jean-Noël, one of the founders of the Académie International, is no more! But wherever you go in the world’s vineyards, you’re sure to encounter the spirit of his
teaching, and his pupils – in a way, his disciples – will tell you that their Master is present every day in the exercise of their decisions and in their memories as young students of oenology.
11 December 2024
